From Bishop Scott Jones: The Texas Annual Conference continues a week long prayer emphasis for our United Methodist Church, The Commission on the Way Forward, and the Called General Conference set for next year.
It is my prayer that our hearts will align with God’s heart and that God will lead us to a solution that we are not yet able to see with human eyes. The Prayer Institute at Windsor Village United Methodist Church has partnered with us to offer a prayer that we can all pray. I invite each of our congregations to include the attached prayer either as an oral offering during the worship service or as a printed prayer for the congregation to unite in praying.
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A Prayer for Unity in the Body of Christ
Holy God, we thank You for Your tender mercies and loving-kindness. Thank You for calling the Body of Christ around the world to pray and unite. Thank You for increasing Your presence, power, anointing and abundance throughout the world. You are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God. Let Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven for the Body of Christ. Lord, as Your people, we humble ourselves, pray and seek Your face today. We believe that as we turn from our wicked ways, You will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our landscape. We will be humble, gentle and patient with each other; making allowance for each other’s faults in love. We will be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving, even as You, Lord, have forgiven us in Christ. Holy Spirit, help us to live out the Word we just prayed to You. Remove the obstacles that hinder the formation of peaceful and loving relationships between our churches. Forgiving Lord, forgive us, the Body of Christ, for our many sins. Forgive our churches for being at times self-centered and self-absorbed. Forgive us when we have had a form of Godliness, but denied Your power. Forgive us for not always being Kingdom-minded. Holy Spirit, remind us all of those we need to forgive and help us to be quick to forgive. Holy Spirit, help us as the Body of Christ not to yield to temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Lord, You are Holy. Just and true are Your ways. Who can be compared to You? Who is Your equal? Yours is the Kingdom, power and glory forever. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture References for the Written Text: Psalm 86:8-10, Matthew 6:10, II Chronicles 7:14, Ephesians 4:2-3, Ephesians 4:32, Revelation 15:3, Isaiah 40:25, Matthew 6:13
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Psalm 86:8 There is none like you among the gods, Adonai;
no deeds compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and bow before you, Adonai;
they will honor your name.
10 For you are great, and you do wonders;
you alone are God.
Matthew 6:10 May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
2 Chronicles 7:14 then, if my people, who bear my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.
Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom.
Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.
Revelation 15:3 They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and wonderful are the things you have done,
Adonai, God of heaven’s armies![Revelation 15:3 Amos 3:13, 4:13]
Just and true are your ways,
king of the nations!
Isaiah 40:25 “With whom, then, will you compare me?
With whom am I equal?” asks the Holy One.
Matthew 6:13 And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
[Matthew 6:13 The latter half of verse 13 is not found in the oldest manuscripts.]For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
Amen.’ (Complete Jewish Bible)
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© Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004 & Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. ©2017 Caldwell Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved- No reproduction of the material is permitted without the expressed permission of CMI.
Texas Annual Conference ministries and churches are granted permission to reprint and share.
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A Prayer for Unity in the Body of Christ
Holy God, we thank You for Your tender mercies and loving-kindness. Thank You for calling the Body of Christ at Mission Church of the Nazarene to pray and unite. Thank You for increasing Your presence, power, anointing and abundance throughout the Mission Church of the Nazarene (San Diego). You are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God. Let Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven for the Body of Christ. Lord, as Your people, we humble ourselves, pray and seek Your face today. We believe that as we turn from our wicked ways, You will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our landscape (San Diego. We will be humble, gentle and patient with each other; making allowance for each other’s faults in love. We will be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving, even as You, Lord, have forgiven us in Christ. Holy Spirit, help us to live out the Word we just prayed to You. Remove the obstacles that hinder the formation of peaceful and loving relationships between our people. Forgiving Lord, forgive us, the Body of Christ, for our many sins. Forgive our people for being at times self-centered and self-absorbed. Forgive us when we have had a form of Godliness, but denied Your power. Forgive us for not always being Kingdom-minded. Holy Spirit, remind us all of those we need to forgive and help us to be quick to forgive. Holy Spirit, help us as the Body of Christ not to yield to temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Lord, You are Holy. Just and true are Your ways. Who can be compared to You? Who is Your equal? Yours is the Kingdom, power and glory forever. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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In addition, please make the prayer available to your members and constituents (either electronically or in print) inviting them to pray it each day during the week of February 25 – March 3.
2 Chronicles 7 assures us that prayer and repentance are honored by the Lord with healing of our land. Let us unite then in that effort. In addition to this prayer, I encourage you to reread the book, “Flood Gates” that we distributed at Annual Conference 2016, especially the chapter on “Breakthrough Prayer.”
Devotionals in video and text form will be posted each day during the week of Praying Our Way Forward. Please include the viewing of these videos in your daily discipline.
Our schedule is as follows:
February 26: Rev. Jessica Lagrone
February 27: John Esquivel
February 28: Amber Jones
March 1: Dr. Chappell Temple
March 2: Leah Taylor
March 3: Reggie Clemons
To participate, return to this page (https://www.txcumc.org/umcprays) each day or follow our social media accounts to watch or read the prayer of the day. We recommend choosing “Going” on our Facebook event to receive notifications for the prayer of the day.
In addition, please make the prayer available to your members and constituents (either electronically or in print) inviting them to pray it each day during the week of February 25 – March 3.
2 Chronicles 7 assures us that prayer and repentance are honored by the Lord with healing of our land. Let us unite then in that effort. In addition to this prayer, I encourage you to reread the book, “Flood Gates” that we distributed at Annual Conference 2016, especially the chapter on “Breakthrough Prayer.”
Devotionals in video and text form will be posted each day during the week of Praying Our Way Forward. Please include the viewing of these videos in your daily discipline.
Our schedule is as follows:
February 26: Rev. Jessica Lagrone
February 27: John Esquivel
February 28: Amber Jones
March 1: Dr. Chappell Temple
March 2: Leah Taylor
March 3: Reggie Clemons
To participate, return to this page (https://www.txcumc.org/umcprays) each day or follow our social media accounts to watch or read the prayer of the day. We recommend choosing “Going” on our Facebook event to receive notifications for the prayer of the day.
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Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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